Catawba County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

116,119

100.00%

139,713

100.00%

In Poverty

8,257

7.11%

12,688

9.08%

Not in Poverty

107,862

92.89%

127,025

90.92%

11 Years and Under

17,952

15.46%

23,109

16.54%

In Poverty

1,779

1.53%

3,188

2.28%

Not in Poverty

16,173

13.93%

19,921

14.26%

12 to 17 Years

9,861

8.49%

10,932

7.82%

In Poverty

828

0.71%

1,151

0.82%

Not in Poverty

9,033

7.78%

9,781

7.00%

18 to 64 Years

74,805

64.42%

88,924

63.65%

In Poverty

3,946

3.40%

6,731

4.82%

Not in Poverty

70,859

61.02%

82,193

58.83%

65 Years and Above

13,501

11.63%

16,748

11.99%

In Poverty

1,704

1.47%

1,618

1.16%

Not in Poverty

11,797

10.16%

15,130

10.83%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.